Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Impurity Transport”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

Supervised machine learning-based multivariate regression of parallel closures for a high-collisionality deuterium-carbon plasma

Many plasmas of interest in laboratory experiments and space consist of multiple ion species. In tokamak edge plasmas, for instance, ionized impurities expelled from the vessel wall influence plasma transport. When describing multi-species plasmas using fluid equations, we need accurate closure relations to close the set of fluid equations. In this study, we introduce the development of fitting formulas for parallel closures using supervised machine learning, in conjunction with the recent closure theory, considering multi-ion collisions and arbitrary ion temperatures. We apply this approach to a high-collisionality deuterium-carbon plasma and demonstrate its effectiveness. As a result, the machine learning-based method for developing practical and accurate closures can be extended to a wider range of plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Stability analysis of WEST L-mode discharges with improved confinement from boron powder injection

WEST L-mode plasmas with dominant electron heating and no core torque source have observed improvements in confinement during boron (B) powder injection. These results are reminiscent of previous powder injection experiments on other devices and gaseous impurity seeding experiments on WEST. During powder injection, the stored energy increased up to 25% due to enhanced ion and electron heat and particle confinement. The improvements in confinement were not indicative of an L-H transition. To identify the dominant mechanisms and the causality chain behind these improvements in confinement, we employ interpretative modeling using METIS, predictive integrated modeling using a high-fidelity plasma simulator (HFPS), and stand-alone gyrokinetic simulations using quasi-linear gyrokinetic code. Interpretative modeling with METIS allowed for the estimation of missing data while maintaining good overall consistency with experiment. These results provided the initial conditions for fully predictive flux driven simulations using the HFPS. From these simulations, quasi-linear gyrokinetic analysis was performed at ρ = 0.5 and ρ = 0.65. Collisionality was found to be a strong candidate for the turbulence suppression mechanism at ρ = 0.5, while a combination of collisionality and the T e /T i ratio was found to be the likely mechanism at ρ = 0.65. The results additionally suggested that increased Z eff (through main ion dilution) could play a role in the improved confinement, but this could not be confirmed due to a lack of experimental measurements. The modeling framework established here can now be used to evaluate and exploit a variety of future powder injection experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

From weak antilocalization to Kondo scattering in a magnetic complex oxide interface

Quantum corrections to electrical resistance can serve as sensitive probes of the magnetic landscape of a material. For example, interference between time-reversed electron paths gives rise to weak localization effects, which can provide information about the coupling between spins and orbital motion, while the Kondo effect is sensitive to the presence of spin impurities. In this work, we use low-temperature magnetotransport measurements to reveal a gradual transition from weak antilocalization (WAL) to Kondo scattering in the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas formed at the interface between SrTiO 3 and the Mott insulator NdTiO 3 . This transition occurs as the thickness of the NdTiO 3 layer is increased. Analysis of the Kondo scattering and WAL points to the presence of atomic-scale magnetic impurities coexisting with nanoscale magnetic regions that affect transport via a strong magnetic exchange interaction. This leads to distinct magnetoresistance behaviors that can serve as a sensitive probe of magnetic properties in two dimensions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characterization of ZnSe Single Crystals Grown by Physical Vapor Transport

ZnSe bulk crystals were grown by self-seeded physical vapor transport technique in horizontal and vertical configurations. The impurities and defects in the grown crystals were studied by glow discharge mass spectroscopy (GDMS) and low temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The PL results on the starting material and the grown crystals are consistent with the low impurity levels measured by GDMS. The crystalline quality of the grown crystals were examined by synchrotron white beam X-ray topography (SWBXT) and high resolution triple X-ray diffraction (HRTXD). The SWBXT shows that, aside from twins, the overall crystalline quality of the vapor grown ZnSe crystals, especially in the contactless grown region, was quite high. The HRTXD results are in line with the SWBXT findings. The comparison between the HRTXD on a chemical-mechanically polished and a cleaved surface seems to indicate that polishing damage can obscure the true microstructure in the as-grown ZnSe crystals.

Su, Ching-Hua↗

Developing the hybrid scenario in DIII-D and KSTAR for W-compatible long-pulse operation

Long-pulse, high-performance operation with tungsten plasma-facing components is a crucial challenge for achieving steady-state (SS) goals in ITER and future fusion devices. This paper presents a joint international effort between the DIII-D and KSTAR tokamaks aimed at demonstrating the compatibility of the high q 95 ~ 6 hybrid scenario with a tungsten divertor and superconducting coils. A DIII-D hybrid scenario recipe is successfully tailored to KSTAR’s operational constraints, which facilitates cross-device studies. The results show successful 30 s long-pulse operation in KSTAR at a normalized beta (β N = 2.4) with a benign m/n = 4/3 mode and effective mitigation of tungsten accumulation. Despite this success, the KSTAR scenario exhibits a greater than 25% reduction in thermal confinement compared to the DIII-D reference. To investigate this discrepancy, we performed a predictive TGYRO validation study, which suggests that the difference is likely caused by a weaker temperature pedestal in the KSTAR discharge due to a higher and narrower density pedestal. In addition, such lower thermal confinement leads to higher impurity accumulation, possibly due to a change in neoclassical transport with increased inward pinch, which further degrades global confinement. We also report that stationary, long-pulse operation with sustained thermal confinement requires consistent fueling and wall conditioning. These findings highlight the importance of optimized fueling and real-time wall conditioning in achieving a high temperature pedestal and strong global confinement during stable long-pulse operation. We propose potential approaches toward fully SS, long-pulse operation, including real-time wall conditioning using an impurity dropper in KSTAR and future tokamaks.

DIII-D↗

Self-Assembled Monolayer Patterning for PolySi/SiO2 Passivated Contacts

We utilize hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) based self assembled monolayers to pattern polysilicon (polySi) passivated contacts. We find process conditions that allow for etching front side n/polySi between fingers; thereby increasing Jsc. Importantly, the Voc does not degrade indicating the additional process steps do not introduce defects or impurities. HMDS layers remain on the surface for metallization without detriment to transport.

degradation↗

Trap-assisted Auger-Meitner recombination in GaN p-i-n diodes

Most properties of semiconductor devices are dominated by shallow impurities. However, deep defects often play an important role, for instance, in recombination processes or high field transport. While a variety of techniques are available to assess the density and energy levels of impurities, other properties, such as the recombination mechanisms of the defects, escape observation. We report on the direct measurement of hot electrons generated by trap-assisted Auger-Meitner recombination (TAAR) in GaN p-i-n diodes. By performing electron emission spectroscopy (EES) on diodes with surfaces activated to negative electron affinity by cesium, we observe the expected overflow electrons of p-i-n diodes under low current injection. However, when operating the devices at higher current densities, as low as ∼25 A/c⁢m 2 , we measure the emission of high-energy electrons. At variance with the observed hot electrons in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using EES, the hot electrons generated in p-i-n diodes at our tested currents cannot be from eeh Auger-Meitner recombination due to the diodes' significantly lower carrier densities compared to those in LEDs. During our measurements, we observe the emission of accumulated electrons with energies ∼0.42 eV, ∼0.99 eV, ∼1.43 eV, and ∼2.32 eV above the conduction-band minimum (CBM) at various bias conditions, suggesting the existence of conduction-band features in GaN at these energies where electrons can be long-lived, such as satellite-valley minima and inflection points. We also measure incompletely relaxed hot electrons approaching energies 1.97 ± 0.13 eV and 2.94 ± 0.13 eV above the CBM, as the diodes are biased to high currents, suggesting at least some of the TAAR partaking defects have an energy level ≳1.97 eV and ≳2.94 eV away from either the conduction or valence band edges. Additionally, at our highest operating currents, we measure hot electrons with energies 3.28 ± 0.13 eV above the CBM, providing direct evidence of TAAR processes involving shallow impurities. This unexpected observation of TAAR in GaN p-i-n diodes spotlights the importance of further studies of defects in GaN and the necessity to incorporate the multi-phonon emission, radiative, and TAAR capture steps of defect-assisted recombination cycles into device modeling. Furthermore, this experiment demonstrates the applicability of the simplest semiconductor structures, p-i-n diodes, as a test bed to study the rich recombination physics of semiconductor materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Anomalous Hall effects in chiral superconductors

We report theoretical results for the electronic contribution to thermal and electrical transport for chiral superconductors belonging to even or odd-parity E 1 and E 2 representations of the tetragonal and hexagonal point groups. Chiral superconductors exhibit novel properties that depend on the topology of the order parameter and Fermi surface, and—as we highlight—the structure of the impurity potential. An anomalous thermal Hall effect is predicted and shown to be sensitive to the winding number, ν, of the chiral order parameter via Andreev scattering that transfers angular momentum from the chiral condensate to excitations that scatter off the random potential. For heat transport in a chiral superconductor with isotropic impurity scattering, i.e., point-like impurities, a transverse heat current is obtained for ν = ± 1, but vanishes for | ν | > 1. This is not a universal result. For finite-size impurities with radii of order or greater than the Fermi wavelength, R ≥ ℏ / p f, the thermal Hall conductivity is finite for chiral order with | ν | ≥ 2, and determined by a specific Fermi-surface average of the differential cross-section for electron-impurity scattering. Our results also provide quantitative formulae for analyzing and interpreting thermal transport measurements for superconductors predicted to exhibit broken time-reversal and mirror symmetries.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Numerical simulation of Li-pellet injection experiments for ELM-pacing in EAST

The injection of light impurity granules into fusion research discharges has shown a great potential for ELM pacing in future nuclear devices. The present work employed a model considering both pellet ablation and transport to systematically study for the first time the evolution of both impurity Li species and target plasma in the edge plasma during single and repeated Li pellet injections, with all initial information extracted from the EAST experiments. The evolutionary distributions of atomic and ionized Li species were presented and show good consistency with experimental CCD camera images. Simulation studies were carried out for single and repeated pellet injections at the outer mid-plane, and statistical uncertainty of ELM pacing rates triggering ELMs is discussed with regard to related injection conditions. It is found that the pressure locally caused by an ELM pacing pellet (with a diameter of 0.6 ~ 0.7 mm) was 1.8–2.4 times its unperturbed magnitude in the EAST shots of interest. Accumulation from repeated pellet injections results in the rise of pedestal height at a high injection frequency and this effect becomes stronger with increasing pellet size. Pressure changes are also evident in a scenario of multiple small pellets per stroke, which could lead to a nonnegligible, probabilistic ELM triggering rate observed experimentally. The effects of other possible factors are also discussed. With the assumption that the ELM trigger rate of a Li pellet of 0.7 mm diameter is 100%, the predicted trigger rates are in good agreement with those observed in experiments. This work can help understand the statistically probabilistic behavior of ELM triggering efficiency observed in previous studies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Neoclassical transport in strong gradient regions of large aspect ratio tokamaks

We present a new neoclassical transport model for large aspect ratio tokamaks where the gradient scale lengths are of the size of the ion poloidal gyroradius. Previous work on neoclassical transport across transport barriers assumed large density and potential gradients but a small temperature gradient, or neglected the gradient of the mean parallel flow. Using large aspect ratio and low collisionality expansions, we relax these restrictive assumptions. We define a new set of variables based on conserved quantities, which simplifies the drift kinetic equation whilst keeping strong gradients, and derive equations describing the transport of particles, parallel momentum and energy by ions in the banana regime. The poloidally varying parts of density and electric potential are included. Studying contributions from both passing and trapped particles, we show that the resulting transport is dominated by trapped particles. We find that a non-zero neoclassical particle flux requires parallel momentum input which could be provided through interaction with turbulence or impurities. We derive upper and lower bounds for the energy flux across a transport barrier in both temperature and density and present example profiles and fluxes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Numerical modeling of diffusive physical vapor transport in cylindrical ampoules

Diffusion limited physical vapor transport in closed cylindrical ampoules of aspect ratio (length/radius) between 0.5 and 10 was studied numerically. The transport of a crystal forming component A through an inert component B, which undergoes zero net transport, was considered. A case in which the partial pressure of B is comparable to that of A, as well as systems with very low partial pressures of B (impurity cases) were treated. Concentrations and velocity distributions were obtained from the coupled transport equations for momentum, mass and components. It was found that the interdiffusion of components in viscous interaction with the container walls leads to (1) recirculation of component B, even in the absence of gravity; (2) concentration gradients normal to the main transport direction in the vapor space; and (3) non-uniform interfacial concentration gradients and, hence, non-uniform crystal growth rates.

Greenwell, D. W.↗

Hydrogen production with seawater-resilient bipolar membrane electrolyzers

Generation of H 2 and O 2 from untreated water sources represents a promising alternative to ultrapure water required in contemporary proton exchange membrane-based electrolysis. Bipolar membrane-based devices, often used in electrodialysis and CO 2 electrolysis, facilitate impure water electrolysis via the simultaneous mediation of ion transport and enforcement of advantageous microenvironments. Herein, we report their application in direct seawater electrolysis; we show that upon introduction of ionic species such as Na + and Cl - from seawater, bipolar membrane electrolyzers limit the oxidation of Cl - to corrosive OCl - at the anode to a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 0.005%, while proton exchange membrane electrolyzers under comparable operating conditions exhibit up to 10% FE to Cl oxidation. In conclusion, the effective mitigation of Cl - oxidation by bipolar membrane electrolyzers underpins their ability to enable longer-term seawater electrolysis than proton exchange membrane assemblies by a factor of 140, suggesting a path to durable seawater electrolysis.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Sliceable, Moldable, and Highly Conductive Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Batteries

All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) require solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, stability, and deformability for optimal energy and power density. Here, we developed lithium-deficient lithium yttrium bromide (LYB) solid electrolytes, Li 3–x YBr 6–x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.50), using a comelting method with controlled lithium deficiency. These electrolytes exhibit favorable mechanical properties such as high moldability and sliceability. The Li 2.65 YBr 5.65 composition has an ionic conductivity of 4.49 mS cm –1 at 25 °C and an activation energy of 0.28 eV. Compared to Li 3 YBr 6 , Li 2.65 YBr 5.65 demonstrates improved rate performance and cycling stability in ASSBs. High-resolution X-ray diffraction confirms the formation of the LYB phase with a C2/m space group. Structural analysis reveals increased cation disorder and larger polyhedral volumes for x > 0 in Li 3–x YBr 6–x , contributing to reduced Li + migration energy barriers. Bond valence site energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations reveal enhanced 3D lithium-ion transport. NMR spectroscopy further highlights increased Li + dynamics and impurity elimination.

Poudel, Tej P. [Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, ↗

The effect of water vapor on surface oxygen exchange kinetics of thin film (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O 3-δ

Oxygen reduction and transport in electrochemical applications are strongly affected by the reactant gas composition, including impurities such as water. Understanding the relationship between oxygen reactivity and humidity is key for attaining stability and high efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells, which are especially attractive for transportation applications as low emission power generation devices. Both short- and long-term effects of moisture have previously been associated with use of ambient air. To better understand these effects, we study oxygen exchange kinetics at the cathode surface and the cathode/electrolyte interface using La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LSCF) epitaxial thin films as a model-surface system. In situ synchrotron X-ray techniques evaluate the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics in response to environmental variables. The results suggest a clear enhancement of the ORR rate upon short term exposure of the perovskite-structured films to water. Finally, on the basis of these measurements, along with in situ X-ray characterization of Sr segregation and computational first-principles studies, we suggest a model for this increased ORR activity that may lead to further improvements by stabilizing active cathode surface configurations.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Challenges to magnetic doping of thin films of the Dirac semimetal Cd 3 As 2

Magnetic doping of topological quantum materials provides an attractive route for studying the effects of time-reversal symmetry breaking. Thus motivated, we explore the introduction of the transition metal Mn into thin films of the Dirac semimetal Cd 3 A s2 during growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements show the formation of a Mn-rich phase at the top surface of Mn-doped Cd 3 A s2 thin films grown using both uniform doping and delta doping. This suggests that Mn acts as a surfactant during epitaxial growth of Cd 3 A s2 , resulting in phase separation. Magnetometry measurements of such samples indicate a ferromagnetic phase with out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. Electrical magneto-transport measurements of these films as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and chemical potential reveal a lower carrier density and higher electron mobility compared with pristine Cd 3 A s2 films grown under similar conditions. This suggests that the surfactant effect might also serve to remove impurities from the bulk of the film. Further, we observe robust quantum transport (Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and an incipient integer quantum Hall effect) in very thin (7 nm) Cd 3 A s2 films despite being in direct contact with a structurally disordered surface ferromagnetic overlayer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impact of impurities on peeling–ballooning modes and turbulence in tokamak plasmas

This study investigates the impact of various impurity species on peeling–ballooning (PB) modes and microturbulence in tokamak plasmas through the extension of traditional two-fluid and gyro-landau-fluid (GLF) models. By incorporating finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects, the analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of impurity-driven impact and its interaction with plasma turbulence. Depending on charge state and local plasma conditions, heavy impurities may exhibit gyro-radii larger than those of main ions, which are captured in the extended GLF model presented. Following the presentation of modified two-fluid equations incorporating impurity effects, we systematically analyze the distinctions between impurity and main ion dynamics and their resultant feedback mechanisms on plasma behavior. Derivation of the linear dispersion relation enables quantification of impurity-mediated modifications to: plasma vorticity, diamagnetic drift and gyroviscous effects, electron Hall physics, and FLR effects. BOUT++ – based linear simulations corroborate this formalism, demonstrating systematic stabilization of PB modes upon impurity seeding. And then operational implications for practical impurity control strategies in tokamak devices are proposed. The results underscore the necessity of impurity management to maintain stability and optimize plasma confinement, with specific focus on how FLR effects contribute to transport dynamics. This work paves the way for enhanced modeling and simulation efforts, supporting the development of strategies to control impurity-induced turbulence and improve overall reactor performance.

BOUT++ simulation↗